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Donald Trump's actions go against the Enlightenment values that gave rise to the constitution. His might-is-right politics have nothing to offer BritainThe founding fathers of the USA - James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin and more - were quintessential disciples of the European Enlightenment. Their intent was to embed Enlightenment values into the government and culture of the New World. America would be a republic of laws. Its constitution would ensure governance of the people, by the people, for the people. Through checked and balanced branches of government, it would expunge the possibility of monarchical discretionary power and inaugurate proper democracy.It would celebrate all liberties, from freedom of speech to freedom of worship. Their belief in science for the benefit of mankind in general", in Franklin's words, would imbue the republic's commitment to reason, the scientific method and the pursuit of truth. The dynamic economy and society that emerged, however imperfect, reflected those values. It has inspired billions and, for all its falls from grace, has been a force for good. Continue reading...

US has reportedly rejected Canadian proposal to tackle Russian shadow fleet', Republican bill trims everything aside from defense - key US politics stories from Saturday at a glanceThe US has reportedly rejected a Canadian proposal to establish a task force that would tackle Russia's so-called shadow fleet" of oil tankers and pushed to soften language on Moscow ahead of a G7 foreign ministers meeting this week.In negotiations to agree a joint statement on maritime issues, the US is pushing to strengthen language about China while watering down wording on Russia, the reports said. Continue reading...

Free training classes for firefighters and other first responders are provided through Fema at the Maryland siteThe country's pre-eminent federal fire training academy canceled classes, effective immediately, on Saturday amid the ongoing flurry of funding freezes and staffing cuts by Donald Trump's administration.The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that National Fire Academy (NFA) courses had been canceled amid a process of evaluating agency programs and spending to ensure alignment with Administration priorities", according to a notice sent to instructors, students and fire departments. Instructors were told to cancel all future travel until further notice. Continue reading...

State agencies responding around Pine Barrens, where homes, chemical factory and Amazon warehouse are at riskQuick-moving brush fires burned through a large swath of land on New York's Long Island on Saturday, fanned by high winds that spewed thick grey smoke into the sky and prompted the evacuation of a military base and the closure of a major highway.Kathy Hochul, the state governor, declared a state of emergency and said state agencies were responding to the fires around the Pine Barrens, a wooded area that is home to commuter towns east of New York City. Continue reading...

US pushes to remove references to sanctions and Russia's war in Ukraine from a Canadian draft statementThe US has rejected a Canadian proposal to establish a task force that would tackle Russia's so-called shadow fleet" of oil tankers, according to reports last night.Canada, which has the current Group of Seven presidency, proposed the measure ahead of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Quebec later this week. Continue reading...

Jeffrey Collins of the Associated Press recalls experience of watching Brad Sigmon die for 2001 murdersA reporter for the Associated Press who watched as South Carolina executed a convicted murderer by firing squad has described the experience, saying that the killing was now etched" in his mind.Jeffrey Collins, who has witnessed executions in South Carolina for the news agency for 21 years and has seen 11 people killed using three methods, wrote a short essay about the experience. Continue reading...

Supreme court justice who frequently votes alongside conservative colleagues branded DEI judge'Amy Coney Barrett, the Donald Trump-appointed conservative supreme court justice, has been branded a DEI judge" by furious rightwing figures, after she voted to reject Trump's attempt to freeze nearly $2bn in foreign aid.Coney Barrett, part of the court's rightwing majority, split with her fellow conservative justices this week. She and John Roberts, the chief justice, voted to leave in place a ruling from a US district judge that ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze the nearly $2bn in aid for foreign aid work that had already been performed, and that had been approved by Congress. Continue reading...

Strategy is not likely to earn Democrats' votes, so Trump is leaning on Republicans to force it throughUS House Republicans unveiled a spending bill Saturday that would keep federal agencies funded through 30 September, pushing ahead with a go-it-alone strategy that seems certain to spark a major confrontation with Democrats over the contours of government spending.The 99-page bill would provide a slight boost to defense programs while trimming non-defense programs below 2024 budget year levels. That approach is likely to be a non-starter for most Democrats who have long insisted that defense and non-defense spending move in the same direction. Continue reading...

Performance is all for the US president, who is intent on creating a world dreamt of by global libertarian thinktanksFor six weeks we watched as Donald Trump - primped with golden hair, bronzer, fat pens and a zigzag signature - played the lead role in his new series, The Strongman. It was solid, not great, television, driven by an unspoken, looming threat - what will he do next?This makes sense if you understand that on the way to creating a new world order of unfettered, red-blooded, male-dominated American capitalism, there is also a cultural revolution. As Stephen Marche writes in the Atlantic: Washington today can be understood only as a product of show business, not of law or policy." Continue reading...

As Trump upends old alliances, Keir Starmer's collaboration with EU leaders is welcome and should extend beyond defenceBritain and Europe are together facing a watershed moment, a turning point, a second Zeitenwende, a paradigm shift, a new world order. Regardless of which of these overused phrases best describes the dramatic shifts unfolding since Donald Trump began his second US presidential term in January, politicians, diplomats and analysts all agree: nothing will be the same again. The key question now is what, in practical terms, Europe and Britain can and will do to meet this challenge. Is this Europe's moment, when it finally comes of age as a global player? Or will the EU and its close neighbours collectively fail to rise to the occasion, condemning their citizens to an era of domination by bigger, rapacious and more determined powers?Donald Trump is in the process of attempting, rashly, to do three extraordinary things. First, he is trying to force Ukraine, which has spent more than three years under murderous assault, to accept a peace deal" on inimical terms dictated by himself and the aggressor, Vladimir Putin's Russia. Second, in a stunning reversal of US policy, he is seeking a rapprochement with Moscow that includes re-establishing full political and diplomatic relations, lifting sanctions and launching joint economic partnerships. Third, he is telling Europeans they must henceforth defend themselves, that the US, in effect, is no longer a loyal, reliable partner or even necessarily a friend, and that Nato, for 76 years the solid bedrock of transatlantic security, is dispensable. Continue reading...

EU leaders proposed a huge increase in defence spending after the US suspended military aid to Ukraine

Former vice-presidential candidate claims pair should have held more in-person events around the USTim Walz has said that he and Kamala Harris were too safe" during their 2024 election campaign, with the former vice-presidential candidate claiming they should have held more in-person events around the US.We shouldn't have been playing this thing so safe," Walz, the governor of Minnesota, said in an interview with Politico, as Democrats seek to learn the lessons of Donald Trump's win in November, which has sent the party into the political wilderness. Continue reading...

With Love, Meghan is bad TV, but there are worse ways for a former royal to bring in the bucks than cooking up crostiniSo what is it, exactly, that we want from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex these days? We know what we don't want, which is, basically: everything the couple have done so far. We disapproved of the tell-all Oprah interview, and Harry's memoir, Spare - they were too revealing, too appallingly frank. We hated their tell-nothing Netflix documentary, Harry & Meghan - far too boring, what was the point?And we particularly loathe the new Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, which garnered what must be a record number of terrible reviews last week - an exercise in narcissism", toe-curlingly unlovable TV". Whereonce the pair were ridiculed for their whining self pity, now they are diagnosed with the opposite problem - critics find the new venture desperately upbeat".Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...

The Brooklyn neighborhood has garnered global attention, largely due to its sarcastic' fashion trends and all-night parties. But as fascination grows outside its borders, the forces of gentrification are pushing out its longtime residents. On a recent weekend, two photographers documented its changing dynamics. Read the full story here:

The ex-state governor, who quit amid sexual harassment allegations, sees an opportunity as Eric Adams strugglesAbraham Rios, a 76-year-old army veteran and retiree, regularly meets friends at a coffee shop around the corner from his home in Brooklyn, and that is about all he does, he says.The Puerto Rican native who served in the Vietnam war is satisfied with the money he gets from social security and enjoys life, but he would like to see more police in his Clinton Hill neighborhood, where he has lived since 1964. Continue reading...

Whatever the buzz about their recent film performances, few actors will show they think their statuette is as good as wonThe awards season for films ended last Sunday with the Oscars. Though I make absolutely zero claim on having any Mystic Meg capabilities, this time around it turned out that I had interviewed both Adrien Brody and Mikey Madison, respective winners of this year's best actor and actress, for the Observer.Asked whether they believed they were in with a chance they answered the only way an actor can in their situation: by not really answering the question at all. Madison noted that her film Anora wasn't even out yet, so it was weird talking about awards. Brody, star of The Brutalist, mumbled: If that day comes...". Continue reading...

Look-back window results in nearly 100 allegations against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day SaintsThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) in the US has been rocked by a slew of sexual abuse allegations launched against it in California in the latest scandal to hit the organization that is better known as the Mormon church.A three-year look-back legal window that allows adult survivors of sexual assault to file claims in California has produced almost 100 allegations of childhood sexual abuse by Mormon leaders. Continue reading...

The secretary of state was once a prominent Ukraine supporter and called Putin a war criminal' - not any moreMarco Rubio, the US secretary of state, looked on as Donald Trump demanded more gratitude from the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and accused the embattled leader of gambling with world war three".You right now are not in a very good position," Trump chided Zelenskyy during their confrontation in the Oval Office last week. Continue reading...

The strange warmth between the leaders has sent a chill globally at the prospect of a troika of authoritarian statesDonald Trump's sinister affinity for Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, has long been the subject of intense speculation. Former KGB officers claim Trump was recruited in Moscow in 1987 and cultivated as an asset in the years prior to his 2016 US election victory.Two retired Russian spies weighed in again last month, alleging that the then 40-year-old Trump, codename Krasnov", was personally compromised in an active measures" operation and has secretly danced to Putin's tune ever since.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk Continue reading...

Tina Smith is leaving at the end of her term, and says she would call Musk a dick even if she had to face re-electionThe American people can see in Elon Musk and in Donald Trump" the kind of jerk boss who just doesn't respect the work that anybody does," said the Democratic senator Tina Smith of Minnesota.Smith has been bluntly calling out Musk and Trump since she made a strikingly rare decision in February for someone elected to one of the country's top positions: she will leave her job, by choice, without some kind of scandal, at the end of her term. Continue reading...

The general reaction is that this was yet another stunning example of how spineless and performative the Democrats areHappy International Women's Day (IWD), everyone! I've got some good news and some bad news to mark the occasion. Continue reading...

Bushwick is a dizzying, thrilling place to be.At Maria Hernandez park men pack into the volleyball courts, shouting over matches in Spanish, while children chase soccer balls around shirtless skateboarders. Reggaeton plays from passing cars and techno leaks out of nightclubs under the M train. Recent art school grads throw rooftop parties and split rent four ways, and European tourists roam the neighborhood's industrial sections to snap photos of street art. Continue reading...

The silence from former occupants of the Oval Office has been deafening as the incumbent cuts a destructive pathThe stadium announcer called on the crowd to give a warm welcome to a very special guest". A cheer went up as basketball fans realised that Barack Obama was in their midst. The former US president rose to his feet, smiled and waved before watching the Los Angeles Clippers take on the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.It was a jarringly normal scene at a profoundly abnormal time. The previous evening, Donald Trump had delivered the longest ever presidential address to Congress, a dark, divisive tirade strewn with lies and insults - he called Joe Biden the worst president in American history" and Senator Elizabeth Warren Pocahontas". Continue reading...

As the anti-woman influencer sees it, domination is its own end. Is it any surprise he's a supporter of the president?Andrew Tate is now a free man.The rightwing anti-woman influencer landed in Florida last week after being held detained for over two years in Romania on rape, sex trafficking and money laundering charges. The Romanian courts abruptly reversed their previous refusal to allow Tate to leave the country after several high-level Trump administration officials took an interest in his case - including Trump's son Donald Trump Jr, who called Tate's arrest in Romania absolute insanity". The Romanian foreign minister, Emil Hurezeanu, was reportedly approached by a Trump envoy about Tate's case at a security conference in Munich in February; Tate arrived in the US within weeks. When asked if Trump had played a role in Tate and his brother's release, the Tates'lawyer Joseph McBride said: Do the math. These guys are on the plane." Continue reading...

Wellspring center in Casper pauses services after conservative legislature passes tough new restrictionsThere's a small, unremarkable beige building in downtown Casper, the heart of Wyoming's oil country, tucked between a Sinclair gas station and a local dry cleaner. Most days of the week, the building attracts a small throng of protesters.In May 2022, it was burned down just three weeks before a new business was set to open in the building. Since it finally opened in 2023, Wyoming lawmakers have passed a number of laws designed specifically to shut it down. Continue reading...

Pharmacies are struggling with supplies as fatal outbreak expands and health secretary sows disinformationAs measles cases continue to grow in Texas and New Mexico, with a second death, an unvaccinated adult, reported on Thursday, some Texas cities are seeing shortages amid soaring demand for the highly effective vaccine and as the top US health official, Robert F Kennedy Jr, sows disinformation and mistrust about vaccines.Ann and Paul Clancy were picking up medications at their local Walgreens in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday and decided to ask the pharmacist about getting the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Continue reading...

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Liz Oyer's former office leads reviews of clemency requests and makes pardon recommendations to White HouseDonald Trump's administration on Friday fired at least two senior career officials at the US justice department, including the head of the office that handles presidential pardon requests, according to a social media post and sources familiar with the matter.Liz Oyer served as pardon attorney since 2022, a career justice department position. Oyer was fired effective immediately," according to a memo she shared on LinkedIn, which cited Trump's executive authority under the US constitution. Continue reading...

From Donald Trump's latest remarks to actions taken against crucial government agencies - key US politics stories from Friday at a glanceDonald Trump has said he finds it it easier" to work with Russia than Ukraine and that Vladimir Putin was doing what anybody would do" after Russia launched a massive missile and drone strike on Ukraine days after the US cut off vital intelligence and military aid to Kyiv.I'm finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine. And they don't have the cards," Trump said in his latest attack on Kyiv. In terms of getting a final settlement, it may be easier dealing with Russia. Continue reading...

Order would affect Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, while Musk reportedly squabbled with Trump cabinet secretaries over firings. This blog is now closed.Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has scrambled to convince Donald Trump to lift tariffs on his country, which together with Mexico and China is one of the US's largest trading partners.That effort included a phone call between the two leaders on Wednesday, which appears to have had some effect - on Thursday, Trump exempted Canada from some of the tariffs he had imposed, along with Mexico.Trudeau responded Tuesday by placing tariffs on the US, and he questioned whether further negotiations would make any difference, accusing Trump of acting in bad faith." The two leaders eventually spoke Wednesday morning, an exchange Trump said ended in a somewhat" friendly manner. A person familiar with the matter said the call grew heated and included profanity. Continue reading...

Brad Sigmon, 67, was shot dead by prison staff despite outcry over cruel' method and calls for clemencyThe US has conducted its first execution by firing squad in 15 years, with South Carolina prison officials shooting to death Brad Sigmon, 67, on Friday evening, despite widespread concerns about the safety and cruelty of this method.Sigmon was the oldest person to be executed in the state's history and his death was part of a series of rapid killings the state has pursued in the last six months as it revives capital punishment. There had been growing calls for clemency, but minutes before Sigmon was killed, the state's Republican governor, Henry McMaster, announced he would not be intervening. Continue reading...

Man surrenders to police and two more arrests expected in Caleb Wilson's death after Omega Psi Phi fraternity ritualMultiple people are facing criminal charges in the recent death of a 20-year-old student at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that evidently occurred amid a fraternity hazing, authorities have said.Caleb McCray, 23, surrendered to police in Louisiana's capital city on Thursday on counts of manslaughter as well as criminal hazing in the 27 February death of 20-year-old Caleb Wilson, a mechanical engineering student at Southern as well as a member of its famed Human Jukebox marching band. Continue reading...

Move comes even as Trump has tried to show that Musk's cost-slashing agency doesn't have the final sayThe US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued new guidance directing that spending items greater than $50,000 now require approval from Elon Musk's so-called department of government efficiency" (Doge), even as Donald Trump began putting some distance between Musk's reach and the power of government department heads - at least over job cuts.Any assistance agreement, contract or interagency agreement transaction [valued at] $50,000 or greater must receive approval from an EPA DOGE team member," the EPA guidance says, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press. The EPA did not respond to a request from the news agency on Friday for comment. Continue reading...

Government alleges university failed to protect Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests on campusThe Donald Trump administration announced on Friday that it had canceled $400m in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University in New York because of what it alleges is the college's repeated failure to protect students from antisemitic harassment.The announcement comes after Columbia set up a new disciplinary committee and initiated its own investigations into students critical of Israel and its war on Gaza after Hamas's own attack on Israel. That move by the university has alarmed advocates of free speech. Continue reading...

Incarcerated trans women report being groped by male guards and suicidal thoughts: I'm punished for existing'Transgender women incarcerated in the US prison system have been transferred to men's facilities under Donald Trump's executive order, despite multiple court rulings blocking the president's policy, according to civil rights lawyers and accounts from behind bars.Trump's day-one gender ideology" order, one of several sweeping attacks on trans rights, said the attorney general shall ensure that males are not detained in women's prisons or housed in women's detention centers" and that no federal funds go to gender-affirming treatment or procedures for people in custody. Continue reading...

Federal Reserve head Jerome Powell said it was in no rush to cut interest rate as government overhauls key policiesThe US economy faces a potential slowdown in consumer spending amid heightened uncertainty about the economic outlook" among businesses, the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, said on Friday.The central bank chief said the Fed will be in no rush to cut interest rates while it waits for more clarity on how the policies of the new Trump administration affect the economy. Continue reading...

The presidency is no longer just a bully pulpit'. It's become part of the disinformation machineDonald Trump won the White House not with money, though he spent plenty of it, but by dominating the conversation. He hasn't stopped campaigning. He uses attention to bolster his political power, and uses his office to make sure that everyone keeps watching.He was barred from leading social media platforms after the January 6 attack on the Capitol, but four yearslater, their owners attended his inauguration. Many of his key hires appear picked for their media presence as well as their ideological bent and sycophancy. Tuesday's interminable address to Congress was garnished with the kind of wild claims or outright lies that he knows take off on social media. For him, posting online ultimatums to Hamas and a disturbing AI-generated Trump Gaza" video is all partof foreign policy. One of the most chilling, and telling, moments of last week's attack onVolodymyrZelenskyy was MrTrump's remark: This is going to be great television."Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

All cases were in Lea county, near the county in Texas where more than 100 cases and one death have been recordedThe New Mexico health department reported 30 measles cases in the state on Friday, an increase of 20 cases from its previous count.All the cases were reported in Lea county, which is located adjacent to Gaines county, Texas, where more than 100 cases and one death of an unvaccinated child have been reported. Continue reading...

It's unknown whether Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has promoted anti-vaccine views, is involved in study

The US president's cuts to health funding could lead to half a million deaths. They're part of a strategy to condemn and isolate the countryOn 7 February, less than three weeks after taking office, Donald Trump issued an executive order: Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa." The order directed US agencies to halt aid to South Africa, condemned South Africa's case against Israel at the international court of justice (ICJ) as an aggressive position", and declared that white Afrikaners be prioritized for resettlement in the US based on the duplicitous claim that they are victims of unjust racial discrimination".The humanitarian consequences of this executive order are devastatingly clear. On 26 February, notices were sent out terminating support for HIV organizations funded by the US President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar), initiated in 2003 by then-president George W Bush. The termination of funding to Pepfar is catastrophic for South Africa. Studies predict this could result in more than half a million unnecessary deaths and up to half a million new infections. Continue reading...

One bill would remove trans children from their parents, and the other would ban drag shows and Pride marches

The pattern is inescapable - with just one caveat: organised crime bosses occasionally display more honourBehold Donald Corleone, the US president who behaves like a mafia boss - but without the principles. Of course, one hesitates to make the comparison, not least because Donald Trump would like it. And because the Godfather is an archetype of strength and macho glamour while Trump is weak, constantly handing gifts to America's enemies and getting nothing in return. But when the world is changing so fast - when a nation that has been a friend for more than a century turns into a foe in a matter of weeks - it helps to have a guide. My colleague Luke Harding clarified the nature of Vladimir Putin's Russia when he branded it the Mafia State. Now we need to attach the same label to the US under Putin's most devoted admirer.Consider the way Trump's White House conducts itself, issuing threats and menaces that sound better in the original Sicilian. This week the president said that a deal ending Russia's war on Ukraine could be made very fast" but if somebody doesn't want to make a deal, I think that person won't be around very long". You didn't need a translator to know that the somebody he had in mind was Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Ayers' genre-bending jazz-funk sound produced one fantastic album after another - and then found a new lease of life in hip-hop sampling Roy Ayers, jazz-funk pioneer behind Everybody Loves the Sunshine, dies aged 84There's a sense in which Roy Ayers was blessed from the start. Aged five, the son of two musicians - and by all accounts already showing talent as a pianist - he was famously presented with his first set of vibraphone mallets backstage at a gig by Lionel Hampton. If you wanted to take a romantic view, you could look on that as an act of benediction: the man who had more or less singlehandedly popularised an instrument that had previously been viewed as a novelty passing on the mantle along with his mallets. Hampton had broken racial barriers in the process: at a time when jazz bands were almost entirely segregated, Hampton and pianist Teddy Wilson's work with Benny Goodman's quartet was subtly acclaimed by one critic as the most beautiful example of men working together to be seen in public today".For a time, it looked as if Ayers was following in Hampton's footsteps. By the time of his debut album, 1963's West Coast Vibes, Ayers was clearly carving out a space for himself in the jazz world. Running through versions of Charlie Parker's Donna Lee or Thelonious Monk's Well You Needn't, he was already his own man: a little hotter in his approach to the vibraphone than Milt Jackson, less inclined towards the avant than his friend Bobby Hutcherson. Continue reading...